Influence of Constructivism Instructional Approach on Students’ Achievement in Mathematics in Secondary Schools in Mandera Central Sub County, Kenya

Abstract

Student’s performance in Mathematics in national examinations has continued to be low. Efforts have been made to reverse this trend, but the low student performance persists. The situation is dire in Mandera Central Sub-County. Perhaps it is imperative to investigate the influence of the constructivism instructional approach on student’s achievement in mathematics in secondary schools, which is the main thrust of the current study. The objectives of the study were to examine the influence of explanation and elaboration on students' achievement in Mathematics in secondary schools in Mandera Central Sub-county, Kenya. The study was based on the concepts of individual constructivist theory, social constructivist theory and Jerome Brumer constructivist theory. The study used a mixed research methodology. The study adopted the experimental research design. The target population was a total of 2,573 respondents comprising of 120 teachers and 2,453 students from 3 boys’ schools, 3 girls’ schools and 3 mixed schools within Mandera Central Sub-county in Kenya. The sample of students to be used in the study was selected using random sampling procedures. The study sample size was 222 respondents. The validity of the instrument was ascertained by a panel of experts in Mathematics education from the Department of Education, Psychology and Technology, School of Education, Mount Kenya University. The data collected quantitatively was analysed by the use of descriptive statistics applying the use of SPSS (version 24) and its presentation was done by use of percentages, means, standard deviations and frequencies. The findings were displayed using bars, graphs, charts and in prose form. Content analysis was applied in testing the data that was qualitative in nature or aspect of the data that was gathered using open-ended questions. The findings showed that learners that were educated using the technique of constructivist had a higher achievement in Mathematics this is because there was a score in their achievement in Mathematics as compared to the students who were taught using the traditional approach. Additionally, those learners who were taught in a constructivist- learning environment had a significant improvement in their understanding and their abilities in comparison to the rest of the abilities such as knowledge and skills by 30%. The study concluded that the constructivist method of teaching is suitable in bettering the achievement of learners in Mathematics and therefore needs to be embraced for practice for schools to realize improved performance in Mathematics.